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John Humphrys: Theres a catch 22 at the heart of every referendum

Samuel Johnson said that patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. Tradition, he might have added, is the first refuge of a politician. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of tradition in the hands of the tourist operators. Come to Britain to see the beefeaters or Anne Hathaway’s cottage. That’s fine. It’s when politicians use tradition to defend their actions — or inactions — that we need to lift our eyebrows just a shade.

Clare Short made a serious accusation against the government over its dealings with post-war Iraq. She accused it of acting against the advice of Lord Goldsmith, the attorney-general. That would have meant it was acting illegally. There’s a simple defence to that, you might think: publish the attorney-general’s advice and all would be clear. Er, no, we can’t do that, said ministers, there is no tradition for doing so. Take Goldsmith’s word for it instead.